Collection 246 - Joseph T. Brown Papers, 1887-1917

Creator: Brown, Joseph T. (Joseph Taliaferro), 1849-1908

Provenance Note: An original financial record book kept by Joseph T. Brown was loaned to Montana State
University for copying by Joseph T. Brown II of Birney, Montana on November 18, 1964.
The book was returned to Brown after copying, although a few original cattle sale
receipts were given by the donor to supplement the record book. These materials were
subsequently reported to the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections in 1979
and assigned control number 79-636. The present location of the original record book
is unknown.

Historical Note: Joseph Taliaferro Brown was born in Mississippi on January 26, 1849. After briefly
serving in the Confederate Army near the end of the Civil War, he moved to Texas where
he worked for the railroads. In 1886 Brown formed a partnership with an Oklahoma rancher,
John Wyeth, and drove a herd of cattle to Birney (Rosebud County) Montana where he
established a cattle ranch along the Tongue River. Eventually his two sons, Albert
Gallatin Brown (1885-1949) and Joseph Taliaferro Brown II (1888-1971), joined him
in operating the ranch. Over the years the Brown operation partnered with several
other Montana cattle producers including George W. Brewster. Joseph Taliaferro Brown
died on October 26, 1908.

Content Description Note: The Joseph T. Brown papers consist of a photocopied financial account record book
which lists expenses both chronologically and by account name, 1887-1894. Included
are notations about goods purchased, payroll expenses for hired hands, and cattle
sales. The record book is supplemented with a few original cattle sale receipts, and
a photocopied lease agreement for grazing rights on the Northern Cheyenne Indian reservation
in southeast Montana.